Jason Marquis tossed seven-plus innings to record his third consecutive victory and Reed Johnson hit a three-run homer in the Chicago Cubs' 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays on Saturday at the Rogers Centre.
Marquis (5-3) faced one batter over the minimum during the first four innings and didn't allow a hit until Lyle Overbay led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to right-center. He departed after seven-plus innings having allowed one run on four hits while striking out one.
Johnson, who was released by Toronto on March 23, got some redemption against his former club when he took a 1-1 fastball from Roy Halladay (8-6) over the wall in left for a three-run shot in the Cubs' four-run second inning.
Chicago was leading 6-0 when Marquis gave up three consecutive singles to open the eighth inning. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Cubs manager Lou Pinella brought in reliever Carlos Marmol.
The right-hander struck out Joe Inglett and Alex Rios before issuing a walk to Matt Stairs to allow Toronto to score its first run. Marmol ended the threat by getting Scott Rolen to pop out to second base.
Marquis is 4-0 with a 3.09 ERA over his past six starts and helped the Cubs pick up their first victory on artificial turf since Sept. 1, 2004, at Montreal.
Chicago opened the scoring with a two-out rally in the top of the second inning off Blue Jays ace Halladay. Mike Fontenot and Henry Blanco got things started with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners for Ronny Cedeno.
Cedeno hit a scorching groundball to David Eckstein at shortstop. Eckstein went to his left and attempted to field the ball only to have it bounce off his glove, allowing Fontenot to score.
Instead of heading to the dugout in a scoreless game, Halladay was then forced to pitch to former teammate Johnson with two men on. Johnson won the battle with his third home run of the season and his first since May 23 at Pittsburgh.
Chicago tacked on another run in the third inning when Mark Derosa singled up the middle to score Derek Lee.
The Jays' defensive struggles continued in the fifth inning. Lee led off with a sinking line drive to center field. Vernon Wells ran in and tried to make a sliding catch, but the ball got underneath him and went to the wall. Lee ended up on third base and later came around to score on Jim Edmonds' grounder.
Halladay was pulled after five innings. The 31-year-old surrendered six runs, only two of which were earned, on seven hits while striking out five. It was his shortest outing since July 12, 2007, at Boston and the most runs he has surrendered since June 5, 2007, against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Wells left the game after popping out to Lee in the bottom of the seventh inning. After the at-bat Wells was seen grimacing and holding his left wrist on his way back to the dugout. The 29-year-old missed 25 games earlier this season after being placed on the 15-day disabled list after fracturing the same wrist trying to make a diving catch in center field on May 9 in Cleveland.
Right-hander Bob Howry pitched the ninth inning for Chicago. He surrendered a leadoff triple to Brad Wilkerson, who later came in to score on a sacrifice fly for Toronto's second run.
Notes:@ Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun was scheduled to make his second rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday night. Zaun, who was placed on the 15-day DL on May 28, could be activated in time for Sunday's series finale against the Cubs. ... Chicago's Aramis Ramirez made his first start as a designated hitter since June 24, 2007, at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. ... Toronto starter Roy Halladay remains tied for sixth all time with 17 victories in interleague play. ... The Cubs have gone 4-0-1 in their past five series dating back to May 26 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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